


You're Never Defenseless

by Branithar



Series: We're Like Light Through Stained Glass [1]
Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Childhood, Childhood Friends, Kid Fic, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:28:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27275722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Branithar/pseuds/Branithar
Summary: Michael and Calum find out they're soulmates.
Relationships: Michael Clifford & Calum Hood
Series: We're Like Light Through Stained Glass [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1991515
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	You're Never Defenseless

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from Madness by Sleeping With Sirens.

“Lunchtime, boys!” Mrs Hood yelled from the veranda. 

Michael and Calum stopped chasing each other in circles on their balance bikes and watched her wave and head inside. 

“I’ll race you!” Michael yelled, stomping as fast as he could towards Calum’s house. 

He’d nearly made it there when the sounds of a clatter and loud thud made him stop and look back. Calum had fallen over. Alarmed, he turned around and stomped back. 

“Are you okay?” 

Calum pushed himself off the ground, looking stunned. 

“ _Your knee!_ ” 

Calum looked at it, at the huge graze that was starting to bead up with blood. Calum’s face screwed up and he started breathing hard, then wailing. 

“It’s okay!” Michael told him, dropping his bike and running to him. “Your mum-” 

Suddenly, his vision became blurry. Michael blinked and wiped his eyes with his fists. When he opened them again, he found that he was sitting next to Calum’s bike on the road. He looked up and saw _himself_ staring down at him in shock, then looked down and saw that his knee, which looked way darker than usual, was grazed. 

Michael gaped up at himself. “ _Calum?_ ” 

“What happened?” 

“We _swapped!_ ” Michael exclaimed, “That means we’re best friends forever!” 

Calum, with Michael’s face, looked confused. “Mikey?” 

“Yeah!” 

Calum looked like he was going to cry again. “Your knee.” 

Michael pushed himself to his feet. “It’s _your_ knee, actually.” He grabbed Calum’s hand. “Come on, your mum can fix it.” 

Calum wiped his eyes and nodded. “Okay.”

Michael led him to his house and went to the dinning room where Mrs Hood had a plate of fruit slices and sandwiches ready. 

“Excuse me!” Michael said. 

Mrs Hood looked down at him and gasped. “Oh, _Calum!_ ” she exclaimed.

“I’m Michael,” he informed her. He pointed to Calum. “Calum is me now.” 

Mrs Hood stared for a moment. 

“You have to wash my knee,” Michael told her. 

“Right, yeah, let’s go to the bathroom.” 

Michael followed her there, Calum sniffling as they went. 

“Can you sit on the edge of the bath?” Mrs Hood asked, opening a cupboard. 

Michael and Calum sat. Calum still seemed sad, so Michael hugged him while Mrs Hood got out a red bag, their helmets bonking together. 

“I’m glad we’re best friends forever,” he told him. 

“Are we gonna stay like this?” Calum asked. 

“Um… I don’t _think_ so.”

“No,” Mrs Hood said, wetting a cloth in the sink and kneeling in front of them, “You’ll probably switch back soon, in fact.” 

“Why?” Calum asked. 

“That’s what soulmates do,” she explained, dabbing at the blood dripping down his leg, “If one is in trouble they can switch so that the other one can help, like Michael is helping you now, and then when you’re okay you’ll switch back.”

Calum sniffled. “Doesn’t it hurt?” 

“Nah. I’m extra strong,” Michael bragged, even though it stung a bit. 

“You’re very brave,” Mrs Hood told him as she opened a bottle and put a cotton ball to the opening. 

“I graze my knees _all_ the time,” he told her proudly. 

“I bet you do.” 

As she put on a large brown bandaid, Michael blinked and found himself sitting to Mrs Hood’s left. Calum looked at him, shocked. 

“We’re back now!” Michael said. 

“Just in time!” Mrs Hood commented, packing up the first aid kit, “You boys ready for lunch?” 

“Yes!” Michael shouted, jumping up. 

Calum seemed to cheer up as they ate their fruit and sandwiches, but he didn’t want to ride on their bikes anymore. 

“I always draw on my bandaids if they don’t have pictures already,” Michael told Calum, figuring there was less risk of injury in drawing, “Where are your textas?” 

Calum showed Michael to his box of drawing supplies and they fished out what textas they could find, putting them in a pile on Calum’s bed. 

“I’m gonna draw a dragon,” Michael said, taking the red texta. 

Calum used the green one to draw a fish, then helped Michael with the wings on the dragon, then drew a star with orange because they didn’t have yellow. 

“Are we gonna swap again?” Calum asked. 

“I think so,” Michael replied, colouring in a flower, “Any time one of us is scared.” 

“When _you’re_ scared?” 

“Yes. And when you’re scared.” 

“We’ll rescue each other?” 

Michael grinned. “Yeah!”

**Author's Note:**

> I am super up in the air about this, but I may write more Malum as they grow up and make this multi-chaptered, let me know what you think.


End file.
